Functional Skills in Apprenticeships: What Every Employer Needs to Know

When apprentices struggle with English or maths, the impact is felt across the business — in the quality of written communication, the accuracy of day-to-day tasks, and the confidence of the individual. Functional Skills qualifications exist to address exactly this, and for employers investing in apprenticeships, they represent one of the most practical and well-funded routes to building a more capable workforce.

This guide covers what Functional Skills are, what changed in February 2025, the business case for supporting them, and how AKG Learning handles delivery so the burden on your team is minimal.

The numbers are hard to ignore. Skills shortages are one of the most consistently cited challenges facing UK employers, and the evidence suggests the gap between what employers need and what employees can do is widening.

The UK Government’s 2023 Survey of Adult Skills reinforces this picture: many adults continue to need support with reading and maths, and these skills are increasingly vital for employment, training and progression. Functional Skills qualifications provide a direct, funded route to closing that gap within your existing workforce.

The UK government changed the Functional Skills rules for apprenticeships. Under the previous rules, all apprentices who did not hold a GCSE in English or maths were required to achieve Functional Skills in order to complete their programme.

Under the new rules, this mandatory requirement has been removed for apprentices aged 19 and over. Employers now have the flexibility to decide whether their adult apprentices undertake Functional Skills as part of their programme.

Apprentices aged 16–18 must still achieve English and maths qualifications if they are not already qualified. Some sectors also retain their own requirements — most notably Early Years, where Level 2 English remains a condition for inclusion in statutory staff-to-child ratios.

The reform gives employers genuine flexibility, but it also places the decision with you. For many employers, the question is no longer “do my apprentices have to do this?” but “should my apprentices do this, and what value does it bring?” The business case for saying yes is strong.

Functional Skills at AKG Learning is not an add-on. It is fully embedded into our apprenticeship programmes, with structured delivery managed by our team from induction through to final assessment. Your role as an employer is to support — not to deliver.

For apprenticeships, the Functional Skills component is fully funded through the apprenticeship scheme. There is no additional cost to employers for the qualification itself when it is aligned with an apprenticeship framework. The investment is in protected study time — and the return is a more capable, confident member of your team.

Partner with AKG Learning to deliver high-impact English and maths development through our integrated apprenticeship provision.